Credit Suisse Group has reported a 38% decline in its net income attributable to shareholders for the third quarter of 2020 (3Q20) to CHF546m ($597.08m) compared to CHF881m ($963.4m) made in the same quarter in 2019.
The Swiss banking group said that the reduced 3Q20 net income is partly due to a gain of CHF327m in 3Q19 pertaining to the transfer of the InvestLab fund platform to Allfunds Group.
In the second quarter of 2020, the group’s net income attributable to shareholders was CHF1.16bn, and in the first quarter, it was CHF1.31bn.
The net revenues for Credit Suisse Group were down by 2% from CHF5.32bn in 3Q19 to CHF5.19bn in 3Q20.
Its total operating expenses in 3Q20 were CHF4bn, which is 2% less than the total operating expenses of CHF4.08bn reported in 3Q19. The expenses in the third quarter of this year were driven by CHF107m spent on restructuring and also major litigation provisions of CHF152m.
Segment-wise performance for Credit Suisse in Q3 2020
Credit Suisse’s Swiss Universal Bank (SUB) unit had a 6% decline in its 3Q20 net revenues to CHF1.29bn compared to CHF1.38bn earned in the same quarter in 2019.
The international wealth management (IWM) business was hit with a 20% reduction in its net revenues at CHF1.14bn in the reported quarter compared to CHF1.43bn reported in the corresponding quarter in 2019.
In the investment banking unit, Credit Suisse had an 11% increase in net revenues from CHF2.02bn made in 3Q19 to CHF2.24bn in 3Q20.
Credit Suisse Group CEO Thomas Gottstein said: “We have once again proven the strength of our diversified business and we are confident that the refinements that we announced over the summer will provide further momentum as we complete the restructuring measures.
“With a strong CET1 ratio of 13.0%, we are well positioned to drive further balance sheet growth. We are pleased that we are proposing the payout of the second tranche of our 2019 dividend and that we continue to accrue a 5% higher 2020 dividend for our shareholders.
“Furthermore, we intend to resume our share buyback program in January 2021 with a target repurchase of up to CHF 1.5 billion of shares and a minimum of at least CHF 1.0 billion2 for the full year.”
In August 2020, Credit Suisse announced a restructuring programme for its Switzerland operations with an aim to generate gross cost savings of around CHF100m ($109m) per annum from 2022 onwards.
As part of it, the group expects to close 37 branches in the country, thereby making nearly 500 job cuts.
